Corrupting Mist

Land of the tainted mist

The party returned from the swamp to have a rest at the inn. When they awoke, Arla stated she wanted to go to the market to get supplies and asked for people to come with her. Raki stated that he wished to visit some of his relatives and left while the rest of the party went with Arla.

While exploring the magic shop, Epsilon was approached by a woman that asked if he’d like to fight in the arena. He said sure and followed her to the arena’s secret entrance where he attempted to register for the arena. Feeling it was too expensive, he began to leave to gather up his companions, but then an eladrin woman dressed in a dress of red yelled at him from a crowd of people gathering in the lobby. “You have the Mark of Azerus and I do not recognize you!”

Epsilon shrugged this off and decided to continue on the way, when the woman decided to stab at Epsilon with her greatspear. The greatspear seemed that it was going to hit when a barrier of force was created between the spear and Epsilon’s body, slowing her thrust and reducing the damage Epsilon took.

“Now now, save the fighting for the arena.” A tall, slender, eladrin man stepped out from the crowd, his arm outstretched towards the two fighters.
“HA, Two vs One now, I’ll kill you both!” The woman yelled as a layer of frost covered her body and clothes.
The two double teamed the woman, and once it looked like she was going to lose, she disappeared and reappeared near the exit of the lobby. “Gehhh, I’ll get you later!” She yelled as she rushed away from the fight.

The eladrin man then introduced himself as Ward and wished to talk to Epsilon and any of his companions about the group in red. Epsilon agreed and began directing him back to the market place.

Meanwhile, the party had their own troubles. While in the marketplace, men wearing red robes began attacking the rest of the party. The party dealt with them quickly and then began investigating their equipment to see if they could find any information.

Eventually, guards had arrived on the scene and decided to take the party away to the jails so that they could be questioned. Ward and Epsilon came upon this scene in which Ward asked that the guards escort Epsilon as well and take them directly to interrogation. After a momentary wait, Ward met everyone inside the room and began asking the party what they knew about the men in red that they killed. The party knew nothing while Epsilon threw around the name Azerus.

Ward thanked them for their time and then asked what they were in town for. Arla mentioned the poetry books and Ward, being interested, said he saw the book at the White Lots Academy in the city. He escorted the group to the academy building but the main gates were closed, the guards at the gate explained it is exam time and no one is allowed to enter.

With luck seeming to be against the party, Ward said he could get everyone in another way and asked them to meet him at the market square after nine. The party did meet him and he took them to the sewers to travel the underground to the academy. They fought with some of the monsters in the sewers and eventually came to the base of the crystal, a magic circle surrounding it. Ward was shocked, and when he went to investigate it, arrows rained down on him. Men in red were hiding around the corner, ready to kill their intruders.

The battle ended in victory for the players, Ward began wondering what the circle is for. The party explained that the men in red used a ritual to destroy the crystal in Eryl. Ward said this would likely be a problem but since they were close to the academy he’d take the party there first. On their way, they had a comical battle with a monster called “Squiggly” in which a shifter razorclaw calling herself Taorara appeared to help fight the Squiggly. After the battle, she took food from Drofxo and ran off to hit an underground telephone pole then continued running down the path as the pole disappeared.

The party then continued down the sewer path and ended up at the entrance to the academy. Ward prepared a sleep spell for the students in the quad and then had the party enter the area, explaining that as long as they don’t try to stick out, they should be fine wandering the academy, armed or not. He then left the party to conduct other business telling them they could simply leave through any gate. The party copied down the necessary information from the book and then left the academy to hear what Arla had to say about the prophecy.

The party returned to the inn as Arla began translating the prophecy line:
“With Crystal in hand, venture the mist.”
She then began explaining how each volume number of the poetry books is linked to a specific line number in the prophecy and explained this was line 5. She then read off each of the lines in order, stating their individual lines. These lines can be found here. Asking for the book they found at the thieves’ guild, she then stated that line:
“Hearts filled with lies.”

As the players slept, Epsilon decided to scout ahead to find where they will go while the party will go once they awaken. He eventually found a town, so once the party awoke he suggested that they go there.

Once they arrived, they recognized the place as Yeovil, the town where all the thefts had occurred. Once there, they informed the guards where the thieves’ guild was located, returned some books to the librarian, and went to the bar to find Arla for the bar seems to be her favorite meeting spot.

Once there, Raki wished to get a non-alcoholic drink, in which they replied that water was all that was available. He asked for some lemon to put in the water. When the bartender asked why, Drofxo yelled because he was homosexual. Flustered, Raki said he wasn’t and ordered some Ail instead.

Searching the bar, they realized Arla was no where to be found, so Drofxo asked the bartender if he saw her. He told them that guards had taken a woman that sounded like the description they gave out of town towards Argath. The Players then decided to go off to the city of Argath and see if they could find Arla.

Once there, they decided to hit the prisons for they had been informed she was taken there by the guards at the entrance to the city. They traveled to the jail, and once there, were informed that she had been taken away by a government official along with some warforged. Some guards from the city accompanied them and they headed towards the north gate. The team then asked the guards at the gate if they had seen where the men took Arla so they pointed towards the forest a couple miles away.

The party then traversed the forest which turned out to be a marsh filled with some dangerous creatures. They decided to follow some footprints they noticed in the wet ground, hoping that these were the ones that the group with Arla had used. eventually, once they came to a clearing with some sink holes, a voice resounded in Epsilon’s head, telling him to trust it. Epsilon’s body then began moving on its own as it found the path that was safest across the sinkholes.

Eventually, Epsilon again had stopped where he was as a sudden pain came from his head. The voice responded again, “your close, but stop where you are.” Which Epsilon took its heed. Linthalor then heard some talking up ahead and decided to investigate. He hid behind some trees to see what the talking was about as he saw Arla talking to a man in a long black trench coat. They seemed to be arguing, but talking in a relatively calm manner.

“You know you shouldn’t have left, now what did you do with the warforged?” The man in black asked Arla. Arla replied but her response wasn’t heard in which the man replied “If you won’t tell me the truth, then I’ll just have you fed to the animals here.”
As the man turned to walk away, Arla piped up “I know where Delta is.” The man turned back to her, as the two began whispering to each other.

From here, the man turned away from Arla, “I’ll let you carry on then, I hope you are right.” He then walked to a clearing as he motioned the two warforged on guard to come with him. They followed in which the man reached into a pouch, throwing something faint to the ground, in which a magic circle surrounded him beneath his feet. Within seconds, he fell through, the portal vanishing as the two warforged followed behind.

“Come,” the voice told Epsilon he being compelled to act on this. The players met with Linthalor who told them what he had heard from the conversation and who was up ahead. The team then met with Arla confronting her about the conversation.

Arla revealed that she was part of an experiment that involved giving sentience to warforged. This was a social taboo for most knew that warforged actions were controlled by people but if warforged were to gain sentience the common people may not like that. But sentience was necessary for the team wanted to explore the boundary in which only a warforged would be able to do. She was being chased because she left the project and wasn’t supposed to.

When questioned why she left, she said that it was because her sister, Alona, found the prophecy books and she wanted to help her sister. In the end, the party felt that she was a liar, a really bad one at that, but decided to let it slide.

Then a loud roar came from within the forest. The party turned to look towards the roar’s origin to find a black dragon flying towards the party. The party slew the dragon and relished their first dragon slaying. Now the party heads back to Argath for safety from the coming mist.

This week, the players had left off at the library and decided to ask around town to find out about the thieves that seem to be stealing from this town. The party spoke to the guard that was on duty while guarding the library and then a bartender who told them to go to a cellar in a part of town. Once they entered, poison gas fills the room having all the PCs fall asleep.

When they awoke, the players found themselves in individual cells, stripped of their gear. Looking around, they noticed no guards were in the room while the keys hung on a wall, thus Drofxo began using prestidigitation to create mirrors and look around hallways in order to make sure there were no thieves around. He then used mage hand to steal the keys and get everyone out of their individual cells.

The party then began navigating themselves through the underground cavern of the thieves’ guild to find their items, loot the thieves, and kill them so that their thieving would end, oh and the thieves were going to sacrifice the party to Zehir and thus were going to attack them anyway which could add to the reason of killing but I think they’re just hypocrites since they stole from the guild.

After searching the cavern, they eventually came upon a group of soldiers talking about Zehir. Raki told the group that he would try impersonating a guard they had killed previously, and thus went back to find a guard. He then used his changeling ability to morph into the man and returned to the group claiming he is an expert with his disguise kit. Raki then spoke to the guards to find where the books from the library were stored, and upon finding them, the guards eventually went to attack the others after finding them while walking through the cavern. He called for help and the PCs found themselves in a battle.

After taking out the guards, Raki, who left his book investigation to help the players fight, returned to his searching. He eventually found the book, so as he went to continue through the cavern, he passed a doorway. A bolt flew at him, hitting him in the chest, and as he turned to wards the opening, he saw many of the thieves ready with crossbows.

Raki claimed innocence since he was still disguised as a guard, and in turn a man in robes with the symbol of Zehir adorned on the front, walked into view. He yelled at Raki saying “Why must you disobey your blood, brother?” The man then motioned at the guards saying “Kill him, he’s beyond saving,” as the guards readied their crossbows again.

Confused, Raki yelled “but I’m one of your men! Why must you attack me?”
The man turned around, “Our guards are instructed to return immediately after an invasion has been resolved, yet you remained behind. It was easy to tell that you aren’t who you say you are.” he then walked away, talking to the biggest of the guards saying that they should dispose of the trespassers, they are not worth sacrificing.

A battle then began as Raki was struck by the tall man. After looking closely, he realized it was the face of the guard they had interrogated in town. The rest of the party came out of hiding to help Raki. Drofxo had managed to seal the rest of the guards in the room with his pillar of storm so that they all could take on the guard by themselves.

After finishing them all off, they noticed some, such as the library guard, had changed their forms after being defeated, reverting into people with bodies that were grey and featured no nose. Drofxo identified them as the changelings of myth in which Raki revealed that he was also a changeling. Epsilon seemed shocked while Drofxo had suspected it since he took the form of the thief not long ago. Turning to Linthalor, Raki asked his thoughts in which Lint decided to give him a lick.

They all decided to check the rest of the cavern, in which they found the exit lied at the edge of a forest. Judging by the sun’s position, they decided to camp at the thieve’s guild for it had a crystal to protect from the mist’s effects.

The players stood before the huge tower, the tower guardians destroyed. As Raki walked towards the tower’s entrance he looked to his right and in a large snow bank a huge pencil rested. Raki yelled “A magical pencil! Let’s kill it!” so the party began wailing on the huge level 15 pencil. Linthalor licked the pencil, giving him splinters, Raki attempted burning it, and found that it was immune to fire. The party decided to come back later to destroy the monstrous pencil another day and harvest it’s free EXP.

After the party entered the tower, they noticed everything was covered in a layer of frost. They began exploring the ground floor when they came across a fireplace that flickered with a cold blue fire. Drofxo Investigated it with an Arcana check and found that it had a tiny portal leading to the elemental chaos. ε decided to destroy the fireplace, and after the rumble fell, the portal had been destroyed.

The party then decided to look in other rooms for more of these fireplaces, but when they walked towards the briefing room, a huge icicle from the stairway beside them flew down and hit Drofxo. They looked up, seeing an ice warrior with another icicle in his hand yelling in Primordial “We arr the ice pirates, ye be plundering ‘r treasure!” Drofxo sighed as he looked towards the fireplaces in the next room. An ice warrior had walked out of each, carrying a similar icicle but holding them more like swords unlike the one above the stairs.

The party began fighting, but more ice warriors, all wearing pirate bandannas, continued to come from the fireplaces, so the party walked around the first floor, destroying the fireplaces before they get swarmed. The battle ended in victory, having the party begin wearing the bandannas. They explored the tower’s 2nd floor this time, finding some gold, alchemical reagents, and a elevator made of force magic that leads to the 3rd floor.

They traveled up and found that this floor was the warlocks private chambers. Drofxo opened a drawer of a desk in the center of one of the rooms and had it explode on him. Inside was a diary, unaffected by the cold or the explosion. The party began looking through it, reading that the warlock had been researching a dead god named “Karsus” and how he was going to resurrect the god and rain evil upon the world. He continued and said how a messenger of the fey had told him to lay off for his research was affecting the nearby forest and he refused. It appears though that they did eventually come for him, for he is no longer here in the tower and the fey may be the ones that froze the tower.

The party continued and found a secret door by the bed, upon entering they found a large bookcase. The party investigated and did find the poetry book they were looking for, frozen in ice. Drofxo used prestidigitation to thaw the book so that they could start using it. Inside this room was another platform of force that led upwards, presumably to the roof.

The party boarded the platform, reaching the roof where they realized the tower’s ice encasement was in the shape of a prism, the different lights sparkled all over the roof top. At the center of the roof was a large sapphire that floated in the air, on the ground below a magic circle with words in primordial. Drofxo examined it, realizing it indeed is the focus for this magical storm. The party backed up as Epsilon began to take his ax and swing it at the crystal to shatter it. As he hit, he was launched backwards as the gem made a brilliant blue glow. It launched a bolt of cold away from the party as a huge monster appeared before them. The party began fighting the monster’s cold wind and eventually killed the monster, destroying the crystal along with it. The storm outside died down as the party celebrated another victory.

The party returned to Arla, who was still in Ylva, and gave her the book. She mentioned the mayer of the town was asking if the party did take any of the warlock’s notes and if they did to go see her. There, they met Lady Sunfire, who seemed anxious to learn what they had discovered. The party showed her the diary of the warlock and in turn she offered the party 600 gp to take the book off their hands. The party accepted and returned to Arla.

She mentioned that it would be best if they continued for she just received a message from Alona detailing where the next location is. Alona is also going to Altria to plead for help in finding the prophecy books for it seems the prophecy may cause harm and if they an find the prophecy faster then they may be able to prepare better.

The party then immmediately left for Tregrath, a mid point to their destination, Yeovil. Here, they found information that at Yeovil there have been a lot of thefts going on and to be careful. When they arrived at Yeovil the next day, the party was sent to the library. There, they discovered the library had been robbed. Asking how it happened, the libararian said that guards were positioned at the library and she’s not sure how thieves could have stolen so many books. The party decided they must find the thieves so that they can retrieve the book and be on their way.

After the introductions, the campaign stated with the PCs waking with the destroyed Eryl surrounding them. Arla had awoken them and the PCs decided they should begin their search for it seemed that it would be best if they started soon. Alona gave the party a briefing on the next mission and sent the party off to Ylva while she went to deal with other business. Her assistant, Arla, instead traveled with the group so that she may help the PCs.

The party made their way to Ylva where Arla told the PCs that they needed to find information on Draken, the Eladrin Warlock that apparently held the book they are searching for. The party then found out the Wizard lived 20 years ago and lives in a tower beyond the forest to the south. They also learned that it was abnormally cold lately and they had even experienced snow not long ago. The PCs ignored it and continued south to find the warlock’s tower.

As they traveled, they found parts of the forest were frozen and as they reached the end of the forest, a huge blizzard had started. Arla said they may as well turn back for now for it was getting late and there would be no way for them to tell how long the trek through the blizzard would take.

The next day, the party returned to the edge of the forest without Arla, she had been too cold, and again encountered the harsh winds and blowing snow of the blizzard. They decided to travel through the storm anyway and once the blizzard stopped they could see the tower just in the distance.

As they traveled to the tower, frost touched goblins had ambushed the party and they had a battle where the team almost got wiped out. After the battle and many healing abilities consumed, the party continued to the tower to find that it was completely encased in ice. ε and the human artificer, Raki, begin breaking apart the ice, while the others sat back. Once they broke through, Epsilon touched the door which activated the trap.

Stone statues that lined the path to the entrance of the tower began to move and attack the PCs. This battle was a fair amount easier from the last and the party took care of all the enemies swiftly. The game ended there, with the players in front of the large doors of the tower.